February 9th, 2025, 3:33 p.m.
This was probably one of the most difficult but most rewarding tournaments I've ever played in.
Megan and I had a game plan. We were up till midnight strategizing and just chatting back and forth, texting back and forth with the film that we learned from Fort Lauderdale, and we definitely adjusted extremely well. We took the first game 11 - 2. I came out fire, and I was moving. I felt much more comfortable in my body. Megan was also bailing me out of stuff when I popped bad balls up. I felt really, really big, really, really strong. Took the first game 11 - 2. Going into the second game we were split. It was 2-0, and as soon as I leaned over, I felt a sharp pain, like I just got shot in my back. No joke, I had to call a timeout after the point. I stumbled after I lunged. You lunge every time you hit a twoey, so then I had a medical time out. It was really, really tough. I wasn't even thinking about the game, to be honest. I was just like, 'please fix my back,' because it was in pain. Whenever I lunged over, it was in pain. I could turn, I could contort, but soon as I lunged over forward, it hurt really, really bad, so the chiropractor on site helped.
I went back on the court. I had to adjust my game plan, because when you hit a two-handed backhand, you have to lunge a lot more forward, you have to lean forward a lot, compared to when you hit a slice backhand, you can kind of stand up a little bit more. So I was slicing only. I wasn't hitting any twoeys. So that was a huge adjustment for me, because a lot of my offense comes from my backhand off the bounce. So Megan really, really stepped up, and she cleaned up a lot of my rallies. Our rallies were a lot longer because I was slicing a bit more, playing a bit more consistent. So it was nine-all, then we got a key point. I hit a key twoey, gave it my all, and I hit a key passing shot on Will down his line, and then he missed. Then the emotions flooded in because it was huge.
Honestly, I will say, when I was on the ground getting stretched out, I was thinking, 'man, I don't want to withdraw because not only did we win game one, but grandpa's watching, and I'm his source of happiness at the moment, there's only one of his grandkids on the TV. So that really helped me push through it, even during the second game. I felt the pain a few times, and it was still tough, it was lingering, for sure, but Megan helped lift me up, and after the match the emotions were crazy. Men don't cry - I'm kidding, men do cry - but I definitely shed a few tears because this was big. This was my first double crown on my second double Championship Sunday, and my grandpa's watching, and this was huge for me to show him 'hey, I did it,' and I'm stoked. I can call him and my parents will be in the same room as him, but I can't really talk to him. So this was my way of talking to him. He was my 'why' this tournament, and he'll continue to be as long as he stays here.
Thank you all for reading this. Thank you to the APP for providing me the support and a little platform to showcase a little bit of my personality. I definitely got close with a lot of people while doing this. I'll see y'all in Sacramento!
February 9th, 2025, 12:50 p.m.
Erik and Purple Jesus played very, very well. They always do. They're probably one of the most consistent teams, and that shows by the fact that I think they have like, seven straight medal appearances, which is nuts. They're one of the most consistent teams. Thankfully we dialed some of our stuff in at the end. We both played a little bumpy and rough at the beginning of the first game as well as the beginning of the second game. I can't relate it to anything or connect it to anything other than we just didn't have our feel. When you lose your rhythm you can't feel your paddle as much and that's what we dealt with. But we got a few clutch timeouts and got everything sorted. I told Will to get his act together, and he did.
Now I'm gonna watch Megan and Jill in the women's doubles final and then go play go play against Will in the mixed. I know Will's going for the Triple Crown. I literally told him 'I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to do this to you, and you're gonna have to double crown.' It's a respect thing between me and him, and it's unfortunate, but I'm gonna have to do it.
Hopefully this ages well.
Februay 9th, 2025, 10:39 a.m.
I woke up today feeling good. Got some good sleep. Will woke me up with some of his music when he was showering this morning. He's trying to get in my head. Nah, I'm just playing!
But it was such a fun dynamic last night, because he was watching film of our game, but I was also watching film of our last Fort Lauderdale matchup. We're on different beds, watching the same exact game, not talking about it. It's freaking hilarious. Other than that, I feel good walking in here. I know we still gotta play our game, even though Eric's a little bit hurt. It definitely is a little bit of a mind game once your opponent's hurt, because you want to go a little bit easier because you feel bad, but we definitely need to just remain with our game plan and stick to it and do the exact same thing we've done the past two times to get it done.
Mixed is gonna be fun. I definitely want to try to play a little bit more fast-paced with some of my thirds. We have a few adjustments that we're gonna try to take advantage of this time. Overall I need to start going for my serve a little bit more to get some confidence off the bat. I'm looking forward to mixed. I feel like this definitely will not be last time I see Will in the final. So every single match is gonna be a continuous adjustment. And right now, we're just working through it.
February 8th, 2025, 3:10 p.m.
That was a tough semifinal, a nice three-game heartthrob. Freaking Patrick and Mark are very good, and they played very well together. We came out so lackluster with energy, and at the end of the first game we ended up cleaning up our act, but not enough, so they still ended up taking it. But the last two games were 11-4 and 11-5. So I'm glad Will kept me engaged. Will brought the energy, and we both cleaned up our act. I don't think I missed a drop, and that's that's really important to really help with our percentages at the net. I still feel very, very confident with Will - I cover my spots, he covers his. We have a lot of trust.
Now I'm watching the other semi. My guys from Austin, Stefan and Etienne made it to the semi, and as much as I love Eric and Purple Jesus, I gotta have an Austin final with my boy, so I am rooting for him. But if not, it'll be fun either way. I know Eric and Purple, I expect to see them in most finals, because they're obviously the two seed, and they are one of the best teams by a big margin. I'm looking forward to it. I'm just watching, maybe take some mental notes, and then tomorrow, once again I play against Will. And I have a bunch of schoolwork to do tonight. Guess what? We have more schoolwork!
February 8th, 2025, 1:02 p.m.
Quarterfinal - once again, the humidity forces us to play a little bit different of a game that I'm at least used to, but pulled through. We were a little shaky at the end of the second game, but got it done. Clayton is super talented, and Jason Bock is like an OG "just grip it and rip it" type of guy, and these conditions were perfect for him. We actually play Mark Dancuart and Patrick Kawka next - that'll be fun. Mark is literally a carbon copy of, Will, they practice with each other five times a week. So that will be fun, I think, and PK can get really, really hot, so we just have to make sure to be consistent, hit deep returns and get it done. Job's not finished. Job's not finished.
February 8th, 2025, 11:51 a.m.
Just finished our first round after a bye and this was actually the first match I played outdoors. Round of 16 yesterday was indoors as well as the quarterfinals and onwards. It probably took a game to get used to it, and still not fully used to it. Will also wasn't used to it but we worked through it and ended up getting acclimated. The Franklin ball, which I love, plus the Florida humidity really evens the playing field, and it really allows for even more talent parity. So outdoors is way tougher than it is indoors, so it's something we have to get used to. Hopefully quarters is going to be inside, so we're able to play our game a little bit better, but if not, we'll get used to it outside. Other than that I think we have a fun round this quarterfinal, so that should be good.
February 8th, 2025, 10:14 a.m.
So last night, had a great steakhouse dinner with Will and Will's parents. I got to meet both of Will's parents, and we had a great time. I had some good steak and I made sure to have some mac and cheese for my carbs. Other than that I went home, did some schoolwork for probably, like, two hours, and then Will was nagging me because we're in the same hotel room and he wanted to go to bed but I wanted to stay up and do more schoolwork. So I ended up just going to bed. I'm caught up on my schoolwork enough to where every assignment that was due last night was submitted on time, but I still have more schoolwork to do today.
I'm stoked to be in Sunday. It's weird - staying in the same hotel room as the person you're playing against on Sunday. I want to be watching film of our last tournament and Will's gonna be watching me watch film of him. It's gonna be a weird dynamic. Now I get to team up with Will today, we have a good draw. We're seeded pretty high, and I want to make another two Sundays. This was the first tournament I ever played two years ago. So this is big for me - compared to two years ago, if I make two Sundays, that would be almost a dream come true.
I also have a really big 'why' this tournament. My grandpa's in the hospital, and he can't speak anymore, and it's tough. Both my parents are going to visit him, and the only thing he has is a TV and sometimes he smiles. So being able to just put on a show or try to do my best for him - I'm definitely leaving it all out on the court this tournament.
February 7th, 2025, 5:53 p.m.
That was a tough semifinal. Brandon played lights out, to the extent that we were very surprised. Susannah also played very aggressively and it actually worked out quite well, except at the end, we dialed it in. We won the first one, and the second one was nine-all, and then we just stuck to our patterns, and came out of the time-out with a plan already in motion. We stuck with it, and we ended up winning. I'm gonna wake up sore tomorrow for men's doubles, so I think Will is just gonna carry me to another Championship Sunday. It's not like he's trying to go for a Triple Crown or anything, haha.
What I'm gonna do tonight is just get a hot shower and stretch. They don't have cold plunges here, which is awful, but it's okay. So I'm gonna try to do some recovery while doing schoolwork, because I have a bunch of schoolwork still.
The job is not finished. Will is standing right next to me right now, we're rooming together here in Daytona, and I play him in the mixed final, so I'm gonna have to watch a lot of film tomorrow night, and he's gonna be watching me watch film on him. So it's gonna be like some psychology mind game, it's gonna be fun. Will needs some silvers in his life, haha.
February 7th, 2025, 1:26 p.m.
So going into the game, Megan and I were 0-1 one against this team, so we actually had to adjust going into it, big time, because they murdered us at Nationals. So we played a little bit different of a game plan, and it paid off in spades. It also helps being on Championship Court. Even though you're playing the same quarterfinal match, playing on Championship Court compared to playing on a back court, or even just a normal court, is a completely different vibe. Completely different vibe, completely different atmosphere. And Championship Court definitely helps me lock in a lot more. There's music before the match, you have to wait for the broadcast, and it just helps me stay locked in a lot easier. Plus, there's a lot more space, so that helps a lot, I don't back into a fence or something like that.
But yeah, I'm stoked! Now we have to start taking notes on our next matchup, because I've never played any of these two teams before. So it'll take a little bit to adjust during the game, but I'll try my best to take some notes before. Overall I feel confident the way I played, I don't think I missed a drop. It helps, because we're playing with Franklin balls in the humidity, so I shouldn't miss a drop.
Right now I'm gonna grab some food though. My stomach is starting to grumble so I'm going to grab some food.
February 7th, 2025, 12:07 p.m.
First round in the beautiful Daytona venue, Pictona. We played inside, so the lighting was definitely not what we were used to. It's probably the worst court for lighting, but we didn't have wind, so there's always a trade-off. We played Eric Paillet and Maria Klokotzky and beat them in straight. It felt good. I don't have jitters anymore, but more so in the early rounds, it's just getting your body warmed up to playing at its best. I'm not scared anymore. It's more so just getting my body warm and staying locked in for those further rounds, like the quarters, semis and finals, where you need to play at 100 every single time.
I consciously work on things that work on my jitters. My jitters were gone in Fort Lauderdale, too. Sometimes I can still play tight without having jitters, where it's just instead of it being jitters, it's confidence, or my mind is somewhere else, like, I'm thinking about content, or a relationship that blew up, or like something like that off the court. That's another way that I cannot play at my best, but typically I don't have jitters anymore. As soon as you play once or twice at some solid venues with a solid amount of people then you'll get used to it - the loud music, the crowd, all that stuff.
Next up we have Christine Maddox and Max Manthou. Christine and Max actually ended up beating us at Nationals so hopefully we can play a little bit better. Overall, the humidity is definitely what I gotta get used to. After sitting down for too long and you stand up and then you're lightheaded you actually need electrolytes, or you're gonna get screwed, like bananas!
February 7th, 2025, 10:44 a.m.
So today is mixed day, the first day that I'm actually playing.
Last night, I had to make up some schoolwork, so I was probably hitting the books for a solid three hours. Because of that, I wasn't able to go out and grab food, so I had to order food in. I grabbed just the quickest thing nearby which was Panda Express through DoorDash. When I miss Zoom classes because I'm traveling, I have to re-watch the Zooms and then do makeup participation, as well as the makeup assignment or homework with the class. So it takes up a solid three, four hours, and that's per class, and I'm taking three classes. I had two yesterday, so I had to do that. Plus I also was filming Tuesday, so I had to make up Tuesday as well, and I'm still not done with it, but yeah, that's the downfall. People are like, "Oh yeah, make sure to stay in school." But it's like, bro, I don't have the time to commit. Like, if I'm doing this full time and I'm traveling, obviously school is going to take a hit. And that's not counting content, I really want to do content, and now I'm behind on content, so it's tough.
But as soon as I woke up, we're focusing on this. I don't even think about school, barely think about content. This is what I'm here for. So today I play the winner of Klokotzky/Paillet and Carvajal Lane/Faletto. It's a battle over here between them. The draw looks good. You can never look at the draw the night before, because it always gets changed at this point. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm playing with Megan today so that'll be good. Megan makes my life easy. She's obviously one of the top girls, I think we're the one or two seed. So yeah, we'll be good!
February 6th, 2025, 2:30 p.m.
I just landed! This was probably one of the only tournaments where there wasn't a non-stop flight to so I had to go through Atlanta, which means I had to wake up at like 4:30 this morning to get in by 1:00, and with delays, I got in at 2:00.
I try to get in around, two-ish to get a good session in, because, for example, Florida is gonna be a lot more humid. In Daytona it's really nice out, but I don't know if there's wind, I don't know how the ball plays, especially since in Austin, where I live, I typically play with Vulcans. It's vital for me to play the day before and just hit and get used to the Franklins, because Franklins will play a lot different. Plus the humidity is a double whammy, so it's gonna play a lot softer. It's good and bad. I honestly really like the Franklin ball, I'm a big proponent of the Franklin ball. But when it's in humidity, then that's when it's very tough to put balls away. You're way more consistent, which is really cool, but yeah, it's very tough to put balls away.
For today, it's 2:30 already. I just got to the venue. I brought my luggage to the venue, and I'm just looking for someone to hit with. Will's playing singles, so I'm not gonna bug Will, because Will is my men's partner. I think Megan is still playing singles too, Megan is my mixed partner. So I'll just find another kid, and just hit for a solid 45 minutes, get used to how the ball plays, court hop and then have refs yell at me because I'm court hopping. Hopefully I finish up and I'm headed home by four or five-ish, so then I can stretch for 30-40 minutes and then go grab some nice Italian food to carbo load. Typically, my diet regiment is when I'm not playing a crazy amount of games. I'll have meats - chicken or steak - but then days before I play I carbo load and just eat a bunch of Italian food. So I'll do that then try to get some good sleep because I did not today, because of the no non-stop flight thing.
